I was DMing a game, and as I was wrapping it off, I really pissed off one one of my players.
Near the beginning of the campaign, I established that good people went to Elysium when they died, which was like a heavenly, idyllic plain where people were young forever and crops never failed, and animals were all tame and peaceful, etc. At the heart of Elysium is the castle of the king of the gods, who allows only the finest warriors to live in his halls, where they drink and feast and spar eternally, training for the final battle between good and evil. However, each person will be asked whether their strength comes from steel or flesh, and be judged accordingly whether or not they may enter. I'm sure most of you will immediately get where this idea was taken from.
So at the end of the campaign, each of the characters who died, I narrated them standing before the god, petitioning to join his hall.
In-character, they were not standing together, but the players were, so everyone could hear eachother's answers.
So the first walks in. The god says "I hear you are a mighty warrior, but from where comes your strength: your flesh or your steel?" He answers along the lines "Flesh falters, but steel is eternal. Only a fool would put his faith in something that is temporary." The god nods and allows him in.
The next player comes in with his dead character, and is asked the same question and gives almost the exact same answer. The god scoffs and says "I have heard this answer before! Someone gave it to him!" And throws him out of the hall.
Another player, for his first character answered "Flesh" and the god implied that his strength has left him, because his flesh was no longer a part of him. He insisted that he duel one of the god's champions to prove his strength hadn't left him, succeeded and was let in.
His second dead character answered "My strength comes from neither flesh nor steel but from the fires of righteous fury" and was let in instantly.
Cont'd
So obviously there was no right or wrong answer, and the God just wanted to know that each of his warriors had gained some wisdom during his life, and had a bold enough heart to state his convictions.
But the player who wasn't let in, kept complaining that he was singled out, even though I told him that he didn't succeed because his answer wasn't original.
It really put a damper on the closing mood, and I feel pretty bad about it.
Did I do wrong?
>>48025079
Maybe you should've said to the player "you're really just gonna say what the other player said?" To give him a hint?
>>48025079
>Did I do wrong?
Yeah. It's really stupid and immersion breaking to have the god judge based on originality when people have been dying and coming to be judged there 5ever. And since the players weren't together in character, it's not like his character actually got the answer from the former. Seems like you were playing the god as you for a moment there instead of the in inverse deity.
>>48025011
Nah, it's cool, the metagaming cunt needed to learn a lesson.
>>48025210
>>48025142
It was cuntish
>>48025142
Pretty much this. The fault lies in both of you, OP. Repeating the same sentence was a kinda lame move but even if he's not a very creative person or wasn't in the mood for it the other players could at least help him to come up with a line.
>>48025079
Maybe you should have had them write their answers and give them to you if you didn't want them to copy each other. I understand kind of why you did it, but it was sort of dickish. I mean, when I first read the story I thought the answer would be some form of "strength from within" and sure enough, that was one of the answers. It doesn't seem unreasonable that two people would have basically the exact same answer.
>>48025292
And besides, maybe he couldn't think of a better answer because he agreed completely and was going to answer that anyway.
>>48025079
I'd have given the guy a second chance;
"I want your words, not some parroted mutterings! Speak, or be thrown to Tartarus!"
>>48025011
>So at the end of the campaign, each of the characters who died, I narrated them standing before the god, petitioning to join his hall.
Why?
>>48025351
Yeah. The problem seems to be more of how you set it up. Was this a goal they developed, or one you railroaded?
>>48025438
It's not a railroad for the dead to end up in the afterlife mate.
>>48025079
retard tries middle school-tier cheating his way into heaven
you did the right thing
>>48025079
Nah man, you're cool. GMs make calls. Stick to your guns. Sometimes players act like entitled bitches and have to deal with the consequences of their failures. As long as he got some kind of narratively appropriate ending or whatever that reflects his entire journey rather than letting just his last minute answer decide his ultimate fate, you should be fine - even if he doesn't realize what your doing at first.
>>48025079
You probably should have asked all of them a differently worded question where they had to actually think of a different answer or done it so the other players wouldn't hear their friend's answer.
> At the heart of Elysium is the castle of the king of the gods, who allows only the finest warriors to live in his halls, where they drink and feast and spar eternally, training for the final battle between good and evil.
That's literally just Valhalla.
>>48025543
>As long as he got some kind of narratively appropriate ending or whatever that reflects his entire journey rather than letting just his last minute answer decide his ultimate fate
His character was basically an outcast who became a mercenary. Jerk with a heart of gold type. In the narrative ending, he wasn't kicked out of Elysium, only Not-Valhalla. Basically to be a villager in paradise, living a simple and carefree life. Which was kinda what he wanted to begin with anyways, at least in-character.
>>48025079
Yeah you dun fucked up
>>48025456
What if i want to stick around as a ghost or something?
>>48025079
>But the player who wasn't let in, kept complaining that he was singled out, even though I told him that he didn't succeed because his answer wasn't original.
So what you're saying is that this god, who has been judging answers forever, has gotten a different answer from every single person that he's ever judged?
>>48025792
Then I see no problem. You did good.
>>48026040
I sprung this on the players as a sort of easter egg epilogue. If anyone said "I don't want that for an afterlife" I would have been alright with it, but they all went for it.
>>48026118
The God may not expect everyone to have different answers, but when two people who knew eachother during their life, gave the same answer almost verbatim, it might be a little fishy.
>>48026441
Also, desu, the answer wasn't in-character either. The "I put my faith in steel" was a loner type. The "flesh" guy was a dumb meat-head, and the "righteous inner fire" guy was a paladin. You could argue that I have no right to determine what is and isn't IC for another player's character, but the plagiarism was just blatant.
>>48025011
>>48025079
You should've had the god answer something like "Hmm, now where have i heard this before? Does this answer come from your own heart, or is it just the wisdom of others? Is this your final answer?"
>happy endings
>>48025011
My only complaint is that there was a second chance for other players, but not him. I agree that a braindead response like that (and I think I know what type of player this guy is) shouldn't get a happy ending so easy, but instead of just casting him out he should have gotten a second chance, say reincarnated with no memories from the former life, as another warrior so in another life time he may learn wisdom and gain entrance.
That's just an example. It depends on the powerlevel of the gods in your setting of course.
For those siding with the player who got barred out, here's my personal anecdote: the only time I've had a player actually repeat what another player said was when it was some jack off who sat on his phone/laptop the entire time, or was one of those guys who would ask to make a spot/search/etc. check after a player attempted and failed. Not because he thought up that it might help, but because someone else did and now he thinks there's treasure or something he missed.
Just get rid of these players if you can. They're never fun.
>story related
>throws a fit because things didn't go how he likes
https://youtu.be/cV0tCphFMr8?t=1m6s
The player in question is Ser Robin, more or less.
>>48028523
a note on the reincarnation, don't make him play all this out of course, but it's essentially a soft denial of entry. Like the world without George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life.
